1 . The National Gallery

Description:

The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London. It houses a diverse collection of more than 2,300 examples of European art ranging from 13th-century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance.

Layout:

The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th- to 15th-century paintings, and artists include Duccio, Uccello, Van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli and Memling.

The main West Wing houses 16th-century paintings, and artists include Leonardo da Vinci , Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titian and Veronese.

The North Wing houses 17th-century paintings, and artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van de Dyck, Velázquez, Claude and Vermeer.

The East Wing houses 18th- to early 20th-century paintings, and artists include Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Renoir and Van Gogh.

Opening Hours:

The Gallery is open every day from 10 am to 6 pm (Fridays 10 am to 9 pm ) and is free, but charges apply to some special exhibitions.

Getting There:

Nearest underground stations: Charing Cross (2-minute walk), Leicester Square (3-minute walk), Embankment (7-minute walk), and Piccadilly Circus (8-minute walk).

1. In which wing can you see religious paintings?

A．In the West Wing	B．In the North Wing
C．In the East Wing	D．In the Sainsbury Wing

2. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．The National Gallery is the biggest British national art museum.

B．The Gallery is open every day from 10 am to 6 pm.

C．The Gallery is completely free.

D．There are four exhibition areas in the National Gallery.

3. Where does the text probably come from?

A．A museum guide.	B．An artist magazine.
C．A news report.	D．A tourist map.

2 . If there was such things as perfect food，eggs would be one of them．They're readily available，easy to cook，affordable and packed with protein．

But for decades，eating eggs has also been controversial due to their high cholesterol（胆固醇）content．One egg contains around 185 milligrams of cholesterol，which is more than half of the 300mg daily amount of cholesterol that the US dietary guidelines recommended until recently．

Researchers haven't definitively linked consumption of cholesterol to an increased risk of cardiovascular（心血管的）disease．As a result，US dietary guidelines no longer have a cholesterol restriction；nor does the UK．Instead，emphasis is placed on limiting how much fat we consume，which can increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease．

Research published earlier this year，though，challenged the common opinion that eggs have no harm to our health．Researchers looked at data from 30，000 adults followed for an average of 17 years and found that each additional half an egg per day was significantly linked to a higher risk of heart disease and death．

Despite the study being one of the largest of its kind to address this specific relationship between eggs and heart disease，it was observational，giving no indication of cause and effect．

While researchers are a long way from understanding why eggs affect us differently，the vast majority of recent research suggests they pose no risk to our health，and are much more likely to provide health benefits．

Even so，having eggs for breakfast every day probably isn't the healthiest option，either—at least as it's recommended that we have a varied diet…rather than put all our eggs in one basket．

1. Which section on a newspaper could you probably find this article？

A．Society

B．Health

C．Travel

D．Fashion

2. Why has eating eggs been controversial for decades？

A．Because they are readily available．

B．Because they are easy to cook．

C．Because they are affordable and packed with protein．

D．Because they contain much cholesterol．

3. What can we infer from the research mentioned in the 4th paragraph？

A．Cholesterol has strong link to the increased risk of disease．

B．The UK dietary guidelines no longer have a cholesterol restriction．

C．Having two eggs per day would lead to health problems．

D．Eggs is not harmful to our health．

4. What is suggested by the author in the last paragraph？

A．Having eggs everyday for breakfast．

B．Recommending our friends to have at least one egg per day．

C．Balancing our diet with different kinds of food．

D．Putting all eggs in one basket when your buy them．

3 . Many college students turn to ADHD(注意缺陷障碍) medicine during exam week, which is regarded as “smart drugs” that will help their academic(学术的) performance. The thinking is that if the drugs help students with ADHD improve their focus, they should provide the same benefit for people who don’t have the disorder.

But a new study shows that drugs can actually damage brain function of healthy students who take the drug hoping to boost their intelligence. “It’s not a smart drug which suddenly improve their ability to understand information they read,” said Lisa Weyandt, a professor at the University of Rhode Island.

To test whether this effect is real or not, researchers organized 13 students to take part in two five-hour study sessions(一段时间) in the lab. The students took the standard 30mg ADHD drugs before one session, and a sugar pill before the other. Students on ADHD drugs did experience an increase in their blood pressure and heart rates. “The medicine was having an effect on their brain,” Weyandt said. The students also showed an improvement in their ability to focus, the researchers found.

However, students on ADHD drugs experienced no improvement in reading comprehension, reading fluency or knowledge reviews, compared to when they’d taken a sugar pill. “We read aloud stories to them and asked them to recall information from the stories,” she said. “That didn’t improve.”

Worse, the ADHD drug actually harms students’ memory. It’s often misused because people pull all-nighters and they’re tired, and they think it’s going to keep them awake. Maybe it does, but it’s certainly not going to help their academic work. The brain is still developing until the mid to late 20s. It’s important to keep it healthy. There’s also a chance that ADHD drugs could endanger a student’s heart health.

1. Why do some college students take ADHD drugs?

A．To improve their sleeping.	B．To get higher marks.
C．To make them feel relaxed.	D．To treat brain disorder.

2. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “boost” in Paragragh 2?

A．Analyze.	B．Affect.
C．Improve.	D．Understand.

3. What effect did ADHD drugs have on the students in the experiment?

A．They became more focused.

B．Their blood pressure was reduced.

C．Their reading fluency was greatly raised.

D．They could remember better and more quickly.

4. Where can we read this text?

A．In a drug instruction.	B．In a textbook.
C．In a travel magazine.	D．In a news report.

4 . As the proverb goes，man struggles upwards；water flows downwards．Water runs downhill from mountaintops to streams, to rivers and to oceans．But downhill isn't the only way that water moves．A new study measures how water travels from country to country for human consumption．This flow isn't the type we usually think about．These scientists looked at the water used to grow and make the products which get shipped from nation to nation as imports or exports．They call this a flow of “virtual water”．

We typically think about water as the liquid that flows from a tap．However，92% of the water used by people goes into growing crops, according to a water researcher Arjen Hoekstra．He recently studied the hidden travels of virtual water used in products made from things like crops and meats．These products are shipped around the world．

For example, consider a sugary soft drink．Hoekstra estimated that to produce one half-liter of the drink requires between 170 and 310 liters of water-about 95% is used to grow and process the ingredients. Another 4% goes into the packaging and labeling．In Hoekstra's calculation, when one country produces a half-liter of soda and sells it abroad，it exports as much virtual water as would fill a large refrigerator．

According to Hoekstra's new report, dry countries like Israel and Kuwait, both in the Middle East, get the majority of their virtual water from other countries，through imported products. More surprisingly, some wetter countries, like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom，also get the majority of their virtual water from other places．That means that most of the water used to grow or produce the products and food consumed in those countries came from other countries．

1. The underlined proverb in Paragraph 1 is used to        ．

A．inspire readers to struggle upward	B．tell a law of nature
C．introduce the topic of the passage	D．summarize the main idea of the passage

2. In which countries does most part of virtual water come from outside？

A．The United Kingdom and China	B．America and Israel
C．The Netherlands and Kuwait	D．The Netherlands and America

3. What can be a suitable title for the passage？

A．Benefits of Virtual Water	B．Hidden Uses of Water
C．Crops and Virtual Water	D．Virtual Water’s Worldwide Travels

4. Where does the passage probably come from？

A．A science news report	B．A newspaper advertisement
C．A book review	D．A science fiction story

5 . Some of the best thing in life don’t happen until you grow old enough to recognize them. I can say that about tea. .

I didn’t start to drink tea until I was 35. The first time felt a genuine urge to drink tea was in 2003, when I stayed briefly in the United Kingdom. After a time of consuming local food, I started to really like strong black tea.

I took packs of green tea with me as gifts but was disappointed to find my British friends preferred much stronger black tea from Sri Lanka. Later I learned that although people know China for its tea, it ranks only third among the world’s black tea exporters, after Sri Lanka and Kenya.

After I came back to China and started to cover food stories, I met friends in the tea-drinking circle and learned more. Although the majority of the rest of the world drinks black tea, which the Chinese call “red tea”, China processes and drinks mostly green tea.

I feel lucky to be Chinese because of the great variety of tea available in the county. It is estimated that there are more than 2000 tea in China it you divide them geographically,] including more than 600 locally famous tea. A more simple way to categorize it is by color ； and extent of fermentation(发酵). That comes down to six main categories --- green, white, yellow, dark greenish(oolong), red and black tea.

Tasting tea can be compared to our life. It can be plain and predictable but sometimes it is j full of pleasant surprises. Occasionally it can even seem too good to be true. The best thing is, you know there’s always more to explore.

1. Which country ranks first among the worlds black tea exporters?

A．China.	B．Sri Lanka.
C．Kenya.	D．United Kingdom.

2. The writer of the passage works as a ______.

A．journalist	B．manager
C．scientist	D．tea grower

3. All of the following statements about tea in China are true EXCEPT ______.

A．varieties of tea is planted and produced each year in China

B．tea in China can be divided into more than 2000 categories geographically

C．tea in China can be categorized by color and extent of fermentation

D．all tea in China can be divided into six categories with no exception

4. What column does this passage belong to in a newspaper?

A．World.	B．Business.
C．Lifestyle.	D．Travel.